Practice yoga right from the ground with seated yoga poses that improve flexibility, promote proper spinal alignment, relieve stress, and lower back pain.
What are Seated Yoga Poses?
In yoga, seated postures involve the practitioner in an upright or forward position while their sit bones stay in contact with the floor. The legs may be extended forward, open wide, crossed, bound, stacked, and more.
Arguably, certain kneeling or squatting asanas may also be considered seated yoga poses, such as Hero Pose (Virasana) or Garland Pose (Malasana).
Benefits of Seated Yoga Poses
- Grounding. Solid contact with the ground can be calming and comforting. This is why the seated poses are often cued at the start or the end of a yoga session. It is also the reason why restorative yoga includes so many seated postures.
- Meditation. By design, certain seated yoga poses are perfect for meditation. They allow the practitioner to stay still in the same position for a prolonged period of time. These poses are also comfortable enough to not be distracting while you focus your mind.
- Lower body flexibility. Various seated postures target different muscle groups within the body. Depending on individual poses, seated asanas can improve the flexibility of the hips, groin, hamstrings, calves, ankles, and feet.
Examples of Seated Yoga Poses
Hip Opening Poses
- Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)
- Wide-Legged Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana)
- Lotus Pose (Padmasana)
Forward Bend Poses
- Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)
- Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
- Sage Marichi’s Pose I (Marichyasana I)
Twisted Poses
- Half Lord of Fishes (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
- Sage Marichi’s Pose III (Marichyasana III)
- Revolved Easy Pose (Parivrtta Sukhasana)
Ramp it up!
If you’re on a journey to intensify your seated yoga practice, try the following modifications.
- Take your time. One of the key characteristics of the ancient yoga practice was a lengthy meditation in a seated position. If a seated pose feels easy, see if you can hold it for a few minutes. Not as easy as it sounds!
- Focus on your posture. Many seated poses only feel easy because the back muscles are not active, especially in the forward bend position. Next time you practice, try keeping your back perfectly straight.